Weight Rack Safety For Smoother Use

Weight racks keep hand weights, plates, and bars neatly organized, but the racks need to be installed safely. While most racks are low profile, the added weight can make them unstable, and the actual space needed by the rack could be more than you anticipated. It's not difficult at all to create a safe weight-storage space, but you do need to know what to look for and how to fix any issues that you may encounter.

Stability in Quakes

Just because your gym isn't on a fault line doesn't mean you won't experience shaking from quakes. Regardless of your location, secure the rack so that it will not tip over if there is shaking. It's good practice to secure a rack to the wall or bolt it to the floor (or both) to ensure it won't fall over in any circumstances.

You should also go over the rack occasionally to ensure all its bolts are still tight. The repeated changes in weight as hand weights are lifted off and then put back on the rack can make bolts loosen (due to the vibrations as weights are moved). A quick once-over with a wrench or screwdriver every week or two ensures all is still tightened as needed.

Clearance After Weights Are Added

If you're placing the weight rack in a small room, you have to be sure there is enough clearance between any machines and benches and the edges of the weights themselves. Many racks are configured so that the weight rests perpendicular to the shelf that it sits on, and that means the end of the weight may stick out, depending on how deep the rack is. You'll need to ensure there is enough clearance so that people walking by don't clip the weight ends with their arms; also, double-check to be sure that people have enough room to lift weights and do their exercises without hitting the rack.

Floor Protection

A fully loaded weight rack is heavy, to put it mildly. Not only does the floor under the rack need to be able to handle that load, but the flooring material itself has to be protected. The rack can dent wood flooring, scratch vinyl, and create small tears in carpeting. Protect the floor under the rack with mats that will absorb the pressure of the loaded weight rack while preventing the floor underneath from being scratched. These mats are not that bouncy, so stability shouldn't be affected; they're simply soft enough to act as a shock absorber.

When you ensure the rack is in good shape and is stable, you make weight storage a lot easier for gym-goers.

To learn more, contact a weight room rack supplier.